The Future for the Demigods
by PercyJacksonluvr180203
Summary: Annabeth and Percy had kids. So did Piper and Jason. Hazel and Frank no exception. Join 15-year-old Toni Jackson and Ajax Grace as they learn more about the world - riding their emotional rollercoasters to the climax. T for future scenes.
1. Introduction

Meet the Jackson family (children only):

Name: Olivia May Jackson

Age: 19

Job: Cashier

Personality: Rule abider, helpful, kind

Looks: Straight blonde hair, grey eyes

Style: Generally likes blue and green clothing, skinny jeans

Nickname: Smarty-pants

Name(s): Daniel Beckendorf Jackson and Luke Castellan Jackson (twins)

Age: 18

Job: none

Personality: sarcastic, witty, and intelligent

Looks: Blonde hair, grey eyes, mischievous grins

Style: A tee is a tee, jeans are jeans. Not really bothered

Nickname(s): Double Trouble

Name: Toni Sally Jackson

Age: 15

Job: none

Personality: cheeky, daddy's girl, jokester

Looks: curly black hair, green eyes

Style: Hoodies, leggings, trainers

Nickname: Daddy's Little Girl

Meet the Grace family:

Name: Ruben Thalia Grace

Age: 18

Job: none

Personality: bossy (slightly), tolerant, peace-keeper

Looks: Blonde hair, kaleidoscopic eyes

Style: trendy jackets and stonewash jeans

Name: Ajax Grace

Age: 15

Job: none

Personality: fun, popular, friendly

Looks: Light brown hair, blue eyes

Style: not bothered

Nickname: AJ

(His name means powerful warrior)

Meet the Zhang family;

Name: Harvey Zhang

Age: 19

Job: assistant careworker at a children's home

Personality: shy, sweet, kind

Looks: darkish skin, golden eyes

Style: try tracksuits. All of them


	2. I have eating competitions with my BFF

Hey everyone! Toni here, Toni Jackson. You don't know me? Oh well. This story is to tell you...no, I'm not giving any spoilers. Just read, to find out.

"For the love of Hades, put something _nice _on!" Olivia begged me. My sister has this thing about guests. Whenever guests come round, the house has to be _immaculate_. Mom's the same. I swear, they must be OCD or something **(no offense to any OCD people here)**. I thought I looked perfectly fine in my grey hoodie and trackies, so I ignored her and walked out the room, just as the bell rang. It was the Graces.

Auntie Piper, Uncle Jason and Ruben were dressed nicely, but like me, AJ clearly hadn't made an effort. Note: AJ is my best friend, and always will be. We only disagree on one thing – I think his girlfriend is a _female dog _**(I hate swearing)**, but he likes her. But yeah, we're inseparable. I politely ushered the Graces in, greeting all of them with a smile, except AJ, whom I punched in the arm. He punched me back, and then he did a complicated handshake that confuses everyone except us.

"How have you been since the last 2 hours I saw you?" I asked jokingly.

"Good, good. You?"

"Oh, the usual. Olivia begging me to wear something nice or brush my hair." I fingered my dark curls distastefully. I _hate_ my curls. I was they were straight. But, annoyed with the subject of looks, we switched the topic to school. We down-talked all the students except our friends until the door rang _again._

"I'll get it!" Olivia cried, jumping up. She fluffed her hair and almost ran to the door. Unsurprisingly, there stood the Zhangs. Auntie Hazel, Uncle Frank and Harvey smiled at us nervously. "We late?"

"Nah, right on time mate." Dad called from the kitchen. "It's Leo who's late."

"Again." Everyone added under their breath.

20 minutes later, Uncle Leo arrived, with his latest girlfriend, Lola. She's been with him longer than the others – 2 weeks or so. Yes, Leo is a player. Uh huh. Anyway, since he was the last guest, food was served (finally, I was ravenous), so we ate. Well, some of us did. Daniel and Luke started playing tricks on people (one good reason not to let the Stolls babysit) , Harvey and Olivia put themselves in lip-lock, and AJ and I were having a competition – who can eat the most the fastest. Naturally, I won. (Thanks dad, for that amazing ability. (I'm not being sarcastic)) We started making small talk, which was boring. ("Ooh, hows the jewellery shop, Hazel." "That necklace is stunning, Piper." "Things good your end?") But eventually, plates were cleared, belts were loosened, and glasses were drained. But as everyone left, I was hit with a horrible realisation. _It was Sunday_. Meaning tomorrow was...MONDAY! I hadn't done any homework...as usual. Grandma Sally always tells me off, but I'm cool with it. So, I went to sleep.

*dreaming*

_I was running up Half-Blood Hill. "Come on AJ!" I shrieked, and grabbed his hand. The monster was closing in. It growled. Its hideous face was dripping mucus and blood. I saw AJ getting slower. His agility was running out. I saw the monster charge, spear in hand. "NO!" I screamed. I lunged and luckily blocked the attack. With my body. I saw scarlet blood oozing from my chest, my breath slowing, my eyelids closing. The last thing I heard was AJ, screaming my name._

I sat up, gasping. Sunlight was streaming through the curtains. Olivia looked at me concernedly. (Yes, we share a room) "You were screaming and writhing in your sleep." She told me, with wide, yet wise grey eyes. I slowed my rapid breathing.

"It was nothing," I lied, "Just...nothing." It was clearOlivia didn't believe me, but she didn't question me.

I speed-dressed and grabbed a piece of fruit from the kitchen, like always. Then I dashed out the door.

I must have looked bad to outsiders; a fifteen-year old girl rushing to school because she's late, hair unbrushed and flapping, school blazer sleeves rolled up and tie doodled on. Not to mention my bag, which had all my friends names scribbled on it. I was just entering the building when the bell rang, signalling the start of lesson. Oh gods, I thought. I sped down the halls, ignoring the angry teachers yelling at me. Beckham High is supposedly a good school, but when you've got problems like me (ADHD, dyslexia, etc) it's the worst school in the universe. I skidded into my classroom and sat down, breathless.

Mr Gabe, our history teacher, looked at me sternly. "Late again, Toni?" He reprimanded. I sighed.

"You should learn to expect it, sir. I'm never on time." Cue the sniggers from the class.

Mr Gabe breathed heavily. "_Sit down. Now. And pull your sleeves down!_" I figured I'd rather go home _on _time rather than in detention, and with only 1 ton of homework and not 2, so I sat down, blatantly refusing to roll my sleeves down, and loosening my tie to annoy him. He ignored me. I was given an exam booklet, and thought _Gods dammit! _Until I saw the front cover. Greek and Roman Mythology.

I locked eyes with AJ over the other side of the classroom. He grinned at me foolishly. I rolled my eyes.

I studied my test.

_Q1. Which god and goddess have a rivalry and why? (2 marks)_

I nearly laughed out loud. My parents had told me that one so many times, I could have answered it in my sleep. My only problem now was writing the answer. Dyslexia. Gods, I hate the word.

XXXXXXXXXX Time warp – Lunchtime XXXXXXXXXX

I left class and headed to my locker, only to be ambushed. It was the one and only, Sienna Tanaka (Drew's kid). She wrinkled her nose at me. "Ugh, here." She handed me a small card and ran off. I walked over to AJ, who also had a card, and we headed to the cafeteria.

I opened the card. In fancy scripting (godsdammit) it said:

_Sienna Tanaka is having a party! This Saturday, 34 Pine Lane. Everyone's invited. Be there or be square!_

I snorted. I'd rather be square.

"Shall we go, for a laugh?" AJ suggested. I looked at him.

"Yes." I replied immediately. Don't snigger at my sudden change. AJ is my best friend. I'll do anything for him. I can't let him go to that tart's party alone; he'll never make it out alive.

I grabbed my tray of food and dug in ravenously. One of my friends, a mortal named Sarah, stared at me mockingly.

"Hungry?" She asked. I smiled at her.

"I'm always hungry." We laughed and carried on eating. Dang, I eat a lot. It's a wonder I'm not fat. No, it's not. I work out. Argh! I'm so bipolar! Oh well.

XXXXXXXXXX Time warp – After school, at home XXXXXXXXXX

I waited for AJ to call on me. He comes to our door, and we head out with the gang (I'm the only girl) to wherever we feel like. I'm usually home an hour later than expected, but Dad's cool with it. He just tells Mom that I was meant to be back that time. Pfft, parents. Anyway, when there was a knock at the door, I wasn't expecting AJ to be crying.

**Haha, I'm not telling you why! Yet. I'm not gonna tell you unless you review, and the whole story revolves around the reason why he's crying, so...review.**

**OOH! I forgot something! If you're in love with either Logan Lerman, Brandon T. Jackson, Jake Abel or Josh Hutcherson, put their name at the end of your review. If not, put the name of your celebrity crush. Byes! **


	3. Cry me a river, build me a bridge

**So, I didn't get any reviews. But I can't keep you waiting!**

I stared at AJ. "You're crying." I said stupidly. Blame my dad, he's the dumb one! Anyway, AJ smiled through his tears.

"Duh." I laughed at him uneasily then frowned.

"What happened?" I asked. He slumped his shoulders.

"Megan broke up with me."

"Oh." I didn't comfort him. I hated Megan, I always had. She was a little-miss-perfect, a flirt, and, quite frankly, an airhead. I thought she'd two-time him for a while, but no, straight to the point. It was easy to rid my face of emotion, because I felt none towards my sobbing friend.

"Aren't you gonna comfort me?" AJ asked. I shook my head.

"I _told_ you she'd break up with you. I _called _it. But you ignored me." I told him tartly.

"You know, the reason I came here is to see my best friend. Friends are always there for each other. Why aren't you?" He asked rudely. He'd stopped crying but he looked wounded.

"I've always been there for you AJ. You just never realised it." I said quietly. AJ rolled his eyes. (Uh uh, that's _my_ thing, AJ. _I'm_ the eye-roller here)

"Right." He stormed away angrily.

I yelled after him, "AND STAY OUT!"

It's an hour later, and AJ still hasn't come calling back. I'm (dare I say it) slightly...worried about the idiot. Auntie Piper text and said he'd gone out and hadn't come back since he yelled at me. I looked around. Olivia was out, probably with Harvey. I grabbed my boots and snuck past my parents, quiet as a mouse. They luckily didn't hear me – they were watching a movie, the _Titanic_ I think. I was just getting my key out of my pocket when Dan and Luke appeared out of nowhere. They grinned identically. "Where are you going, then?" They asked.

I groaned internally. "Out."

"Oh yeah?" They smirked the trademark smirk.

"Sh!" I hissed, pointing to mom and dad. "Be quiet!"

Dan and Luke exchanged a look. "This is golden! You're sneaking out?"

I growled, frustrated. They let me pass, so I stepped outside into the cold winter air of New York.

The frosty wind stung my face. It was starting to snow lightly. It looked pretty, but each flake was like icy daggers on my bare skin. I forgot to wear a coat, and I was bitterly regretting it. "AJ!" I yelled desperately. "AJ, WHERE ARE YOU? COME BACK!" My voice was simply carried away by the wind. I scanned the streets quickly. Out of the corner of my eyes I noticed an alleyway. There's hundreds in Manhattan. But this one, about 100ft away, had AJ and some monsters down it. I took off.

AJ didn't see me coming. Of course, he was too focused on the monsters. _Manticores, _I thought grimly. Three of them, their ugly faces leering at AJ. They shot spikes and whacked him with their thorny tails. I sprang into action. I tackled the first one and stabbed it from behind. The second one, who seemed dazed after my attack, was easy game. I kicked him in the head hard in my combat boots, and he crumbled to dust. The third one ran away. AJ looked up to see his rescuer. He opened his mouth as if to utter a thank you. "Don't bothering thanking me." I spat. "I was never there for you." He sighed heavily.

"I'm sorry! I was a fool. I should have listened to you. What I said was mean, you were always there for me. Every time I had a problem. I leant on you when I needed help. You were always right beside me. I just never realised it." I was kinda touched by that little heartfelt speech. He noticed me shivering.

"Gods, Toni. You didn't put a coat on?! It's the middle of February!" He exclaimed, staring at me. I laughed weakly, rubbing my red arms.

"Hey, I was panicking!" I retorted. The smile slid off AJ's face. His features contorted guiltily – his nose wrinkled, and his eyebrows scrunched together. It looked kinda cute –

WAIT WHAT. DID. I. JUST. SERIOUSLY. PUT. THAT. I. NEED. AN. ERASER. AND. A. KNIFE. TO. STAB. APHRODITE. WITH. She's messing with my thoughts. Gah! Oh well.

I went home with AJ, walking him right to his door in case he "got into trouble again" and needed his butt saving. Just as we stood outside his door he stopped.

He rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously. "Hey, um, Toni..."


	4. Sexual tension ruins everything (sorta)

**ANOTHER CHAPTER! OH MY GODS! WOW! Yeah, I'm getting a little over-excited. Oh well. Please leave **_**reviews**_**.**

"Yes?" I whispered. AJ looked down.

"Do you maybe want to...go to the party with me?" He asked. I looked at him.

"We're already going together, right?"

"No...I mean, go _together_." He stated. He looked away awkwardly. My heart fluttered softly.

"I'd like that," I replied softly, blushing. He gave a small smile and walked inside his house. I walked home, thinking of AJ the whole time. What a day.

* * *

I slipped inside my house really quietly. I brushed the snowflakes off of my bare arms and off of my hair. I tiptoed past the living-room. The clock read _11:00_. Phew, my parents were in bed. I crept to my room silently. The first thing I noticed – Olivia was awake, and looked absolutely terrified. Then, I realised we weren't alone. My mom and dad were glaring at me in fury as I walked in. And, worst of all, Dan and Luke were in there too, trying to look sarcastic but with panic clear in their eyes. I pressed my back against the wall guiltily. "Um, hi guys."

Mom glared at me. "SNEAKING OUT!" she shrieked. "NO NOTE! BED EMPTY! KNIFE GONE!" **(Molly Weasley moment!)** I trembled under her furious grey gaze. Olivia jumped out of bed, ran towards me and hugged me tight.

"Don't, mom!" She cried. "At least she's safe!" I shivered in her arms. Dad turned to me sorrowfully.

"We were so worried, babe. Where did you go?"

"Um...I had to post a letter, and I got lost on the way home."

Mom and dad left the room. Dan and Luke turned to me, looking impressed. "Good lie. What really happened?"

I collapsed onto my bed and turned over on my side, trying to make it seem like I didn't wanna talk. Secretly, I was bursting. As Dan and Luke reluctantly left, Olivia interrogated me. She was my sister. I couldn't keep it from her. I told her about the quarrel, and the fight, and me saving his butt (again). Then I told her about me walking him home...and the exciting part. "And he asked if I wanted to go to the party with him! As in _with_ him!" I finished. Olivia grinned.

"Finally!" She sighed. "The sexual tension between you two was unbearable."

"Sexual tension?" I questioned.

Olivia merely smiled. I rolled over, and fell asleep.

**Sorry for the disappointment. This was just a filler chapter.**


	5. Can a girl and a guy be best friends?

I stood at the door awkwardly, waiting for AJ to come. I'd braided my hair into a fishtail, but loose stands of it were curling softly round my face. I was wearing a hot-pink tee, black skinny jeans and pink converse, looking proper retro. I looked in the mirror, surprised at myself. I didn't see Toni Jackson, the everyday, tomboy side. No, I saw Toni Jackson, the _feminine _side. I heard a knock at the door, and almost ran to get it.

There he was. My best friend. AJ. He looked _amazing_. He was wearing a black polo shirt and jeans, but they were smarter than his usual attire. His floppy brown hair was in his face, his fringe sloping across his forehead. I smiled at him.

"Ready to go?" He asked me. "Oh, and mom wanted me to ask if you wanna sleep over ours tonight."

I know what you're thinking, you creepy twisted freaky perverts. I've slept round his since I was four. So I nodded. "Let's go." We walked to the elevator, where there was a few people standing in there. AJ and I locked eyes, doing one of our tricks to freak people out. Simultaneously, we backed away from the people, declaring, "You're one of them!" Oh, the funny looks we got.

Now where was I? Oh yeah, right. AJ led me to his car. His _car_. I didn't know he had a car! It was an expensive one too – only a bloody Porsche! Well, when your mom is a kleptomaniac charmspeaker...and you inherit the gift...Wow. I climbed in the passenger side whilst AJ drove his swanky new car to Sienna's. As much as I hate the girl, well, at least I had AJ.

Music was blaring from..._speakers?_ They'd really gone all out on this. Streamers hung from the front door. I rolled my eyes to AJ (I seem to be doing that a lot) as we stepped inside. It was like a mass of bodies dancing everywhere and bowls of punch and stuff like that. I'm not really into parties. But then I saw a golden opportunity. A girl stood chatting with her friends, about 10 metres away. She had light orange hair pulled into a bun with little stands coming out of it. She was wearing a belly-top and a miniskirt, looking a proper tart. Not to mention the makeup – eyebrows thickly drawn on, fake eyelashes, bright lipstick. I stormed up to her. "MEGAN!" I yelled. She turned to me. I punched her in the nose, hard, until I heard the satisfying _crack_ of her nose breaking. She stared at me angrily. "What the ****!" She swore. I breathed heavily. "That was for AJ!" AJ thumped his head against the wall, muttering 'idiot'. I laughed. AJ took my arm and dragged me around, until we spotted our friends.

I'll give you a not-so-short description of them. There's Sarah, a freckly ginger girl, Mike, the blond surfer dude, Jake, the curly-haired one, Logan, the one-with-the-side-fringe (he does hair-flips, so awesome), Jamie, the brunette and Logan's girlfriend, Toby, the weird one and Julius and Julia, the prankster twins. We all socialized (duh) and joked around together as the music blared. Then..._We can't stop_ came on. I locked eyes with AJ and grinned. He smirked at me handsomel – NOTHING. If someone reads this journal now, I'm DEAD. Anyways... our dancing is fit. Twerking, moonwalks, the whole package.

We snuck out. Me and AJ. The party was getting boring – the punch was spiked, the music was on a loop and everyone was getting hammered. No thanks. So we wandered round the streets of Manhattan aimlessly, chatting. It was strangely nice to be alone. I mean, we're always accompanied by the gang. But now, here, was so much nicer. Yet there was tension too. None of us really wanted to bring up the party because of Megan. I tapped my foot on the pavement **(?)** as we walked. I finally managed to make out the faint outline of his house. I pointed to it, as AJ was clearly oblivious that we were already at his home. I dragged him slowly towards it and knocked on the door (the idiot had forgot his keys). Auntie Piper answered. "You're home early!" She remarked, letting us in. AJ smiled at his laid-back mom (if only my mom was like that). "Yeah, we ditched the party."

"_Really?_" I commented. "I thought we were still there."

Auntie Piper smiled at me. "You're just as sarcastic as your dad was." She told me. I raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, thanks?" I tried. Auntie Piper waved it off and invited us in, welcoming us with warm blankets, hot chocolate and a crackling fire. I took all of this gratefully and snuggled up on the couch, watching old Disney movies. It was bliss. There was a sentimental air about us. I felt my eyes droop, and I leant on AJ as I drifted into the treacherous world of sleep.

Can a girl and a guy be best friends? Sure.


	6. Did I just crash the jeep?

I woke up to sunlight streaming blindingly into my eyes. I hissed and ducked under the blanket. I heard AJ laugh from over by the curtains.

"Morning Dracula," He snickered. I groaned in response. I'm _not_ a morning person, by any standards. This is why he wakes me up like this, or texts me at 5:00am. I hate him sometimes.

"Get up you lazy..." AJ nagged. I swear on the River Styx, if he does what I think he's gonna do –

"ARGH!" AJ ripped the blanket off me, and blasts of cold air hit me. Glaring at him, I stretched and yawned unattractively and felt a crick in my neck.

"Ow! How'd I get this?" I asked, massaging it. AJ snorted.

"You fell asleep on me, and I didn't want you to wake up so I stayed still." He answered simply. I tried to roll my eyes, but secretly I thought it was kinda

OK ENOUGH! STOP TALKING NOW. YOU'RE GOING TO EMBARRASS YOURSELF.

Ok, so I stumbled out of the warmth, cursing AJ under my breath, though I'm sure he could hear me. By the looks of things, he thought I was quite amusing with all these dirty curses, some of which my dad would have told me to wash my mouth out with soap. After getting dressed and doing all the boring stuffs, I started towards the door. I'd promised to get back by lunch, and right now, I was in the doghouse. I didn't really want to make it any worse.

"Where you going?" AJ asked, noticing me. Damn, he looked fine –

Back to the story. "Home," I answered, like it was the most obvious thing in the world, which it sorta was.

"Stay." AJ pleaded, looking like a lost puppy. He almost made me change my mind.

"Walk me home?" I compromised. He nodded, grinning as if he'd won.

The walk home was awkward. Like, aca-awkward. I mean, it's Saturday, so half of the year-group were out shopping, as usual. They saw us walking out of the same house, at the same time. I bet it didn't look good. But we managed to survive it. Luckily.

As I stepped inside, I noticed the apartment was empty. I beckoned AJ in and looked around. Finally I spotted a note on the fridge. Dad had obviously written it, because it was awful.

_Toni and AJ, if you're there,_

_You may or may not have noticed the fact that everyone is missing. We're at camp, so is Piper and Jason. We thought you might wanna travel on your own, have some BFF time and get a taxi. As you can tell, your mom told me to write that. But if you want (she can't see what I'm writing hehe) take the Jeep. Either of you can drive it, get a bit of practise. I know it's illegal, but...who cares? Don't worry if you can't drive, the Jeep's seen better days; smash it up if you really want. Don't try to though, you n00bs._

_See you there,_

_THE AWESOMEST DAD EVER x_

I sighed, choking on my poorly-hidden laughs. AJ was nodding, like he agreed that my dad was awesome. I didn't, but I didn't dispute the fact that he is pretty funny. I grabbed the keys from the table, grinning.

"I'm driving." I stated. Seeing my face, AJ knew he didn't have a choice. We eyed each other, reading our thoughts perfectly.

And by that I mean we both jumped into the Jeep, cranked up the music and blasted it loudly in the car, singing along, wildly out of tune. But then came our downfall, as usual. We were cruising down an empty lane, singing still, until _IT_ came on. AC/DC. The Highway to Hell.

I feel sorry for the forest animals. I'm pretty sure Artemis hates me now. And the neighbours. I bet they do too. Because this is all they could hear.

"I'M ON THE HIGHWAY TO HELL!"

"SCREW THIS! HIGHWAY TO HELL!"

"WOO!"

Hmm. No regrets. Except this one.

CRASH!

I blinked. The speedometer read 90. Oops. I was in a tree. No, literally. The Jeep had crashed into a tree. Pain drilled its way into my head like a power tool. I groaned, pressing a finger to my hairline.

"Toni, you alright?" A muffled voice called. AJ. Oh, he was ok! But I wasn't. He peered over at me.

"Ooh, ooh, ooh, don't touch your head." He cautioned. I looked at my fingers. They were covered in blood.

We struggled out and started to walk, when an ominous growl came from behind. I looked forwards – we were less than a quarter of a mile from camp. I could see the barrier.

"RUN!" I screamed. AJ behind me, we sprinted away, with an unidentified foul ogre following us. Its skin was pockmarked and sickly green. It was fat but fast. It's fists pounded the jeep into a square. I gulped, and picked up the pace.

"COME ON AJ!" I yelled. We were nearly there, actually on the hill. It was barely five meters away. But his agility was running out. He slowed, and the ogre lunged. I saw. I screamed. I leapt. I defended. I protected. I got stabbed. I collapsed in AJ's arms, my mouth uttering the words, "I'm sorry," before everything faded.

**I can't even...asdfghjkl;'**


	7. AJ takes over, for now

**This chapter is gonna be a little different.**

AJ's POV

Gone. She was gone. Her body lying on the floor, oozing crimson blood from a wound in her chest. Her hair was tangled around her face in matted knots, and her face was scratched and unnaturally pale. Her eyes were closed and she looked calm, an expression which was rarely seen on Toni's face. She was still. I looked at her shirt – blood was staining it thickly. She needed a med camper, preferably from the Apollo cabin. But this wound could be fatal. She needed help right away.

I pulled at her shirt and tore it off to get a proper look at her gash. It was way worse than I'd originally thought – it was wide, deep and gushing like Niagara Falls. I held her limp hand, as if I let go, she'd be gone forever. I held her hand, trying to keep her alive. I held her hand to keep me from crying out. I held her hand because deep down, I've always loved her.

Tears pricked in my eyes, but for once, I wasn't ashamed.

"HELP!" I screamed desperately; worry building in my chest and almost constricting my throat. "HELP ME!" Tears were pouring down my face now, torrents of hot salty water flowing down my cheeks, making my voice thick and unsteady. Luckily, a camper walking past the barrier saw and heard my screams. My heart beat erratically as she helped me up. I was on my knees in the grass. She tried to help me lift Toni, but I wouldn't let her. No one else could touch her right now. I was her best friend. She needed me as much as I needed her. I insisted on carrying her the whole way up the hill, my eyes never leaving her, in case she woke up. I checked her face for movements, watched her chest to see if her breathing pattern changed. I staggered up the hill with the girl in tow, not caring how many people stared at me, at her, at us both. They whispered things, things I couldn't hear but I knew were about us. They commented on my tear-stained cheeks, on her unconscious body, on the blood staining her tan skin and my hands.

I laid her down gently in the infirmary, still holding her hand. The girl looked at me uncertainly. Now that I focused, she looked like an Apollo camper, with her golden hair and blue eyes.

"I'm Amelia," she said quietly, "Want me to call her family?" I nodded. Amelia looked at me, almost sympathetically, before running off.

Finally alone. I studied Toni's face for what seemed like the millionth time. She was oddly serene. Without her usual sarcastic smirk, grumpy scowl or infectious smile, she looked...different. Younger. Relaxed. I was used to this Toni – smiling, making sarcastic jokes, or yelling at me in fury. I was used to the Toni whose eyes used to flash when she was angry, who used to snort uncontrollably when she found something hilarious, who used to jump around and practically bounce off the walls, who used to speak so loud you could hear her from miles away. Not this Toni – quiet, still, pale and vulnerable. Toni and Vulnerable shouldn't go together in a sentence.

It was almost as if she was faking it. I suddenly plunged into a memory, when we were six years old...

"_BANG BANG BANG!" Toni yelled, shooting me with her nerf gun. The soft foam bullet bounced harmlessly off my chest, but she cackled like she'd won. Well, she had. That's what happens when you play armies. Who can hit the other first successfully wins. So I decided to play a little game._

_I clutched my 'bullet wound' and staggered around the floor, groaning. Toni giggled at my antics. Ha! This wouldn't do. I collapsed onto the floor, writhing and twitching in 'pain'. Then I fell still, holding my breath. Toni giggled a little more, and then she stopped. She ran up to me._

"_I know you're faking it." She stated matter-of-factly. I froze, taking care not to move a muscle._

_I knew she was biting her lip. "AJ?" She said, in a muffled voice. "Are you dead?"_

_I wanted to burst out laughing. OF COURSE NOT! But I didn't._

"_YOU'RE DEAD!" she shouted, red in the face. I leapt to my feet._

"_Grrr!" I growled. "I'm a zombie!"_

_Toni screamed and whacked with her nerf gun, which actually kinda hurt._

"_You meanie!" she pouted. "I thought you were actually dead!"_

_I smiled then. "Nah. I'm not dead. We're gonna die together, remember?"_

_Toni grinned toothily (she had lost both her front teeth, we were all calling her gappy), "I'm gonna die a hero death, like Beck...Beckan...Becko...Bekendarf or his girlfriend Silena!"_

"_Ok." I beamed._

A hero's death. Oh, Toni...why you? Why now?

Suddenly her breathing changed. Her breaths came faster...too fast. Rapid. She was panting. This wasn't good. Then it slowed. Too slow. This was worse. The monitor beeped ominously, tracking her slowing heart-rate.

Uncle Percy, Auntie Annabeth, Olivia and the twins ran in as the monitor emitted a long final beep. The only thing they saw was me, fresh tears spilling over my face, shaking my head. She was gone. Gone, forever. The only girl I've ever truly loved, gone. Gone.

She was dead.

**Holy...TEARS ARE POURING DOWN MY FACE ASDFGHJKL;'# FANGIRLING ASDFGHJKL; I'M SUCH A CRUEL TROLL AUTHOR I'M WORSE THAN RICK OMGS OMGS OMGS TONI NOOOOOOOOOOOO!**


End file.
